Dirigible floodlight



Nov. 6, 1951 1.. B. HILL 2,574,211

DIRIGIBLE FLOODLIGHT Filed Feb. 24, 1948 x a mis INVENTOR. LONNlE B. HILL,

AGENT Patented Nov. 6, 1 951 UNITED STATES PATE NT OFFICE i 2,574,211

mmIGIBLE FLOODLIGHT: ,iiionnie:nnnr Eniaokm,' ApplicationFeb'ru-ary 24, 1948, SerialNm 101441 This invention relates. to :dirigible' .lloodlights 0f the type that are especially adapted for outdoor' illumination. In :one -:of fits :aspects, therinventi'on relates to adjustable .iloodlights which are attached to'buildings orstandszand-rare 'adaptied-for illuminating yards, .:farms,. industries and signs which-."require illumination :and which may "be manually directed from .placewtomlaceat the wish of the operator. rlnoneof itsmoshparticular aspects, the invention relates to a floodlight which adapted :for the illumination of yards :and 'forrem-ote manual controL- An .objectof the invention is toprovid'e an .im- :provedtfioodlight and stand :WhiChiS readily installed and adaptable to various locations; Another :obiectfis etO provide an; improved rmounted 'zfloodlight which may be .readily adjusted and amanipulated to, illuminate any particular place. .A :further object is to provide such-a, readily gadjnstable and effective fioodlightwithaiminimum f parts which may be subject to wear and mechanical operational =difiiculties. Qther objects :will ;be; obvious to one tamilia-r with the usevand :need .of-such gfloodlights fmm the following description and accompanying. drawing. a

s The figures of the drawing. illustrate anaem- ,=bodiment of. the present invention showing .the

:dirigiblefloodlightmounted on:- a wall of .a build- Figure .1 is a plan view showing thearrangement .of the various parts of thelightand. stand as itmay be mounted to the side .of'a building.

Figure2 illustrates a side view offthe light and stand partly in cross section showing the details of construction, v

'In'the, drawing which sho'wsthe floodlig'ht and stand, the numeral I'll represents a"hollow,'tubu- "'lar shaft ro'tatably located in encircling collars ll aiorming 'ajpart of at least'two wa-llbrac'es fll which support the 'shaft'vertically away from a rigidb'ase, such as a wall, to which the-branch- 'ing "arms 'of the-braces are fastened; as by'screws 'insertedthrough suitable holes 12' 'in flangin g "tips 'of thelaraces. One or morof the braces may have as apart thereofgat least one additional arm I tb branching and extending: downwardly against the rigid :b'as'e to assist in supporting .the

light and-itsstand and to resist the tendency-10f the stand to pull loose :from the supporting :base and fall downwardly. The :hollow shaft is prevented-from slipping through the collars "of the .braces'ibya shaft ring 13 of outer diameter ilarger than the inner diameter of the brace "collars. The shaft ring 13 is adapted to ride on one of the :brace collars, and is firmly attached to, the :shaft above thebrace at a point on the: shaft extend :beyond the lowermost brace collar. A rscrew M :may :beused in a threaded hole in the shaftring :to lock the collar at the selected point on the shaft. If required to prevent upward slippage of the shaft in the collarsa similarsha'ft :ring may .be attached "to the-shaft at a point .rod is .fiattened :for a short 'distance'f'rom the end and is provided with ;a .hole to ,receive boltsfor attaching other parts of the structure as described below. The pushrod isi-centered by means of bushings l6 in ,each end .of the hollow shaft and is free tomove longitudinally through an opening in .the center of each bushing. To the upper end of'the' rod, a double link I! is pivotally attached and a light collar l 8, which may preferably be an integral part of the link, connects with the opposite end of the link. The double link-has holes l9 through which a boltiis thrust and secured :by .a nut (not shown),, by means of which the light collar may be tightened when it forms an integral part of :link IT. The light collar and thedouble link may be constructed .from a single strip of metal of appropriate length by preshaping the collar and;:fianging the ends of the strip to form the link section as illustrated, or'the collar and the link may be separate parts securely joined together. The light collar is designed to fit snugly about the neck of a conventional floodlight or lamp and reflector, representedby the lamp-:20. Anelectric cord 21 extends from the lamp to a source of electric'current (not shown). Intermediate the reflector of the lamp and the point at which the-light-collar encircles the neck of the lamp, a light yoke 22 is pivotally attached. This yoke is shown as a bracket with a pair-of arms branching from ;a common stem to connect with either side of the lamp; The stem of the yoke is pivotallycon- ,nected to parallel flanges forming apart-of a shaftbracket '23 which consists of theaflanges such-that only a desired amount of theshaft will and the outer ends of the parallel flanges are pivotally connected with one end of a link 28. The opposite end of this link is in turn pivotally connected intermediate the ends of a set of parallel bars 29 forming a part of a handle. One end of the parallel bars fits into a slot in the end of a handle grip 30 to which the parallel bars are secured by a set of nuts and bolts at 3|. The opposite ends of the parallel bars are pivotally connected by a bolt and nut 32 to the lower end of the push rod extending beyond the shaft of the stand, the free unattached end of the handle being forward of the shaft and below the re fiector of the lamp, as shown.

The operation of the fioodlight may be easily;

understood by reference to the drawing where the possible degrees of motion are indicated and by reference to the description of the construction above. The motion of the lamp responds directly to a change of position of the handle. As the handle 30 is moved back and forth in a horizontal plane. the movement causes the shaft III to rotate in the collars of the braces II and the lamp likewise moves horizontally, following the movement and direction of the handle. As the handle is raised or lowered vertically, a corresponding movement is translated to the lamp by means of the push rod 15. Figure 2 shows one position of the lamp, handle and essential parts in solid lines and the relative displacement of these parts in another position of the fioodlight when the handle has been raised vertically to another position. The lamp will remain in any position in which it is placed due to the frictional resistance between the'surfaces of the push rod and the bushings and the support of the various parts.

Various modifications may be made in the relative size and construction of the parts without departing from the general structure and apparatus shown'and described. Lamps of different designs may be used and the light yoke 22 and light collar It may be modified to accommodate a different lamp. The light yoke may be angular asillustrated or 'U-shaped in form. The upper bracket 23 connected to the light yoke may be secured to the shaft l0 somewhat below the end of the shaft as shown, or nearer or farther from the end of the shaft depending upon the length of the yoke arms and relative angle it is desired to have the lamp depending with respect to the position of the handle. The possible range of the vertical movement of the lamp will be, in part, a function of the extent to which the push rod extends beyond each end of the shaft and the relative lengths of the flanges of the shaft brackets and the link connecting the handle therewith. By proper adjustment of these relative lengths it is possible to be arranged to permit the lamp to be raised or lowered through an arc of practically 180. However, practical use of the fioodlight for illuminating yards and particular areas requires only a much smaller degree of freedom of movement, which will usually not exceed an arc of 50 to 70.

The horizontal adjustment of the fioodlight is limited merely by the extent to which the handle may be rotated before striking the supporting base to which the braces I I are attached. Although this base has been illustrated as the wall of a building or house, it is understood that the fioodlight could be as effectively attached to a pole or other support, which may be either stationary or movable. Also it is understood" that the location of the fioodlight on the base support with relation to the ground or platform from which it may be operated, is purely optional, but

will preferably be within reach of any person operating it. Similarly the length of the shaft and the corresponding-length of the push rod will depend upon the height to which it is desired to place the source of illumination. The higher the lamp is placed the wider will be the area illuminated for any given fioodlight. For illuminating an ordinary home yard, a suitable height for the handle above the ground has been found to be about four feet and'a satisfactory length for the shaft and push rod have been found to be from 6 to 10 feet and from 6 to 11 feet. respectively.

.With the foregoing description, I have pro- ,vided an improved fioodlight which is easily constructed and assembled and readily installed. .There are a minimum of operating parts and the fioodlight is positive in its action. The improvements above described provide a fioodlight which includes an eilicient and effective remote control for the lamp and provide a means for directing rays of the light in any direction desired by a simple adjustment of a single handle in either a vertical or horizontal plane or through amovement in a combination of these planes.

Various modifications as sugegsted above and others may be made in the structure without departing from the spirit of the invention and the inherent scope of the disclosure.

I claim:

1. A fioodlight adapted for illuminating a relatively wide area in the immediate vicinity of said fioodlight which comprises in combination a floodlamp which consists of a reflector and a neck into which electrical connections are recessed and which is attached as hereinafter described to a supporting shaft; a long tubular supporting shaft; a single continuous push rod extending centrally throughout the entire length of said supporting shaft and beyond the ends thereof; a light bracket consisting of a collar firmly attached to the rear of said floodlamp and of flanges pivotally attached to the upper end'of said push rod; a first shaft bracket consisting of flanges and a shaft-encircling collar firmly attached to the upper end of said shaft with said flanges forward ofsaid shaft; 9. Y-shaped yoke,'

the stem of which is pivotally attached to the outer tips of the flanges of said first shaft bracket and the arms of which are pivotally attached to opposite sides of said floodlamp intermediate the connection of the light bracket thereto and the reflector thereof; at least two supporting braces consisting of a brace collar for encircling said shaft and of a pair of branching arms with flanged tips for attachment to a rigid base, the

lowermost of which has a third downwardly extending arm with said flanged tip; at least one shaft ring fastened to said shaft and adapted to abut a brace collar to prevent longitudinal movement of said shaft; a second shaft bracket consisting of flanges anda shaft-encircling collar firmly attached to the lower end of said supporting shaft with said flanges forward of-said shaft; a link pivotally connected at one end with the flanges of said second shaft bracket; and a handle pivotally connected intermediate the ends thereof to said link and at one end thereof to the lower end of said push rod, the free end of said handle extending forward of said shaft below the reflector of said floodlamp.

2. A fioodlight adapted for illuminating a relatively wide area in the immediate vicinity of said fioodlight which comprises in combination a floodlamp which consists of a reflector and e.

neck into which electrical connections are recessed and which is attached as hereinafter described to a supporting shaft; a long tubular supporting shaft; a single continuous push rod extending centrally throughout the entire length of said supporting shaft and beyond the ends thereof; a light bracket consisting of a collar firmly attached to the rear of said floodlamp and of flanges pivotally attached to the upper end of said push rod; a first shaft bracket consisting of flanges and a shaft-encircling collar firmly attached to the upper end of said shaft with said flanges forward of said shaft; a Y-shaped yoke, the stem of which is pivotally attached to the outer tips of the flanges of said first shaft bracket and the arms of which are pivotally.

attached to opposite sides of said floodlamp intermediate the connection of the light bracket thereto and the reflector thereof; a second shaft bracket consisting of flanges and a shaft-encircling collar firmly attached to the lower end of said supporting shaft with said flanges forward of said shaft; a link pivotally connected at one end with the flanges of said second shaft bracket; and a handle pivotally connected intermediate the ends thereof to said link and at one end thereof to the lower end of said push rod, the free end of said handle extending forward of said shaft below the reflector of said floodlamp.

LONNIE B. HILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 718,332 Farrell Jan. 13, 1903 2,025,064 Marsters Dec. 24, 1935 2,281,047 Pennow Apr. 28, 1942 2,483,615 Benson Oct. 4, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 627,931 France June 20, 1927 

